Bow



Nov. 30, 1937. c. N. HICKMAN Bow Filed June 22, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fla. 3

FIG. 2

FIG.

' INVENTOR gammy/WW Nov. 39, 193?.

C. N. HICKMAN BOW Filed June 22, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. .5

l2 I6 20 24 ORA W INCHES m 8 6 4 2 Qkbom wuqom QSEQQ FIG. 6

. I/NVENTOR l2 I6 20 ORA W INCHES Nov. 30, 1937. c. N. HlCKMAN BOW Filed June 22, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. /0

Nov. 30, E37.

C. N. HICKMAN BOW Filed June 22, 1935 FIG. /6

FIG. /.3

FIG. /6

4 Sheets-Sheet .4

FIG. /7

INVENTOR Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims. ."Ihis invention relates to bows and. the object of the invention is, in general, to increase their power to cast an arrow.

Most of the bows now in use when unbraced are approximately straight; when braced they are deflected forwardly (toward the user) under stress and when fully drawn this deflection is increased to such an extent that the limbs are subjected to very high fiber stresses. Suchbows with use often take a permanent set the effect of which is to decrease the *cast of the bow and Y to offset this undesirable efiect the limbs of the unbraced bow are sometimes reflexed backwardly (away from the user). Bows of this latter type in the braced and drawn positions are similar in appearance to those of the first type but they have greater casting power and also correspondingly higher fiber stresses in their limbs. Some improvement over the straight how has also been 2 obtained by using bow limbs having rigid tip portions curved back (away from the user).-

when this feature is combined with highly reflexed limbs, as in the Turkish how, much greater casting power is obtained for the same'holding force. The fiber stresses in such a bow are also very high, however, and this requires the use ofa composite construction of special materials with high elastic limits. In still another wellknown construction the limbs are straight but set back at an angle with the handle. This gives greater casting power than the simple straight bow but also increases the fiber stresses. In each of the aboveconstructions the limbs of the how are under considerable fiber stress when the bow is in the braced position and. since this on the rigid. port on of the bow. Withthisconstruction great casting power is obtained without stress I or with yery low stresses in the limbs when in the braced position. When the bow is fully drawn the limbs may be, approximately straight and at right angles to the string so that very short limbs may be used for relatively long arrows. In all prior bows the limbs are bent forward toward each other in the early part of the draw and the string soon becomes radial to the limbs which is ordinarily considered about the limiting position i to which the how should be drawn. In the bow of this invention, although the limbs are set for ward with respect to the handle, they are so highly refiex'ed that the string in the braced position lies along the convex sides of the limbs.

potential energy is put into the bow before the.

' with the result that in the drawn position a much.

greater eilective potential energy is stored in the bow without exceeding the fiber stress commonly used in other types.

Another feature of the invention is a bow in which the bracing height is varied according to the weight of the arrow to be used to give more nearly constant acceleration.

Further important features of the invention are a composite bow limb and methods of ma'king this limb. If two or more suitable thi'n'strips clamped together at one end are deflected and secured together while in the deflected position, the composite strip, when the deflecting force is removed, will assume an equilibrium position in which the deflection is usually somewhat lessthan the original deflection. This composite spring member when used as a bow limb and Fig. l is a front view of a bow according to, this invention. I

Figs. 2 and 3 show the bow in the unbraced and braced positions respectively. Fig. 4 shows the new bow held in the fully drawn position by a common bow of the same size to illustrate the increased length of draw obtainable with the new bow.

Fig. 5 shows the force-draw and bow limb stress curves for the new bow and for a conventionally reflexed bow having limbs of the same dimensions as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows the effect on the force-draw curves of the bows of Fig. 5 of varying the bracingheight.

Figs. 7, 8, and 9 show the preferred bow limb anda method of making it according to the invention.

Figs. 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating the method of calculating the draw of the new bow.

Figs-12, 13, and 14 show the method of assembling a laminated bow limb according to one sembling a bow limb having a preformed core;

and

Figs. 18 and 19 show the method of assembling a bow limb having a core formed from two laminations.

In Figs. 1 to 4 the bow limbs I2 and I3 are laminated and set in the handle [4 at a forward angle a of about 45 degrees. In this bow the limbs are so highly reflexed that the tips of the limbs lie back of the handle when the bow is unbraced.

It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular embodiment. While it may be shown that for maximum draw the forward angle of the limb should be about 45 degrees, it may be desirable to 'use smaller or larger angles for other .kinds of bows. Even very small angles arepreferable to the conventional straight construction but in most cases the angle will be from degrees to 45 degrees. The angle at which the limbs are set forward, the extent to which they are refiexed and the height to which the bow is braced in a particular case will depend on various factors such as. the material of which the limbs are' made, the length of the handle and the type of use for which the bow is designed. V

While the limbs are preferably laminated for other reasons to be explained, the advantages of the forward angle of the limbs are realized equal- 1y well in bows with limbs made from a single pieceor in bows made entirey from a single piece. The limbs, however, will ordinarily be made up separately, and set in a suitable handle with end pieces l5 and i6 projecting forwardly at the desired angle and having suitable sockets for'fixing the limbs in place. Since the limbs are refiexed the string 26 in the braced position will lie along the convex side of the limbs as shown in Fig. 3. to obtain sufiicient drawing force, the limbs are appreciably wider at the handle than in bows of other types. If desired, grooves l8 and 89 may be provided to prevent the string 20 from slipping off the limbs. f

In Fig, 4 thebow-has been drawn to the position of maximum draw; namely the position in which the limbs are straight and the string is at right angles to the limbs. -It is held in this position by the holding force of a common bow 2i of the same dimensions and it will be seen that although the string 22 is radial to the limbs 23 and 24 the draw of the bow 2! is much less than that of the new bow so that a bow according to this invention with short limbs may use relatively long arrows. shown more clearly by a specific example. For straight or conventional refiexed bows the length of draw which brings the string to the radial position is given quite accurately by the formula 2H L D.98B-6B in which D is the draw B is the length of each bow limb L is one-half the length of the handle and H is the bracing height.

It 18:16 inches, L,=4 inches and H=4 inches Then D=17.3 inches.

This formula is quite accurate since it takes into consideration the bracing height, the length of the handle and the manner in which the bow bends. The last two terms, however, are rela-- tively small and to some extent oflset each other so that a very good approximation is given by.

Or as commonly stated in archery, the bow should be about twiceas long as the arrow to permit the bow to be zdrawn until the string is radial t0 the limbs. I

In order to keep the bow stable and The extent of this advantage is 2-5 /E +L=B'-.o7ssr+r. (5)

/ But T=3.41Ho as indicated in Fig. 11 so that S=B-.267Ho+L Substituting this value of S in (4) above But the last term in (8) is relatively very small so that very approximately I WithB, L and H the same as in the other bow,-

curve 25 represents the force-draw curve of a conventional refiexed bow with constants as given above in connection with Equation (1) and curve 26 the force-draw curve'of a bow according to this invention having the same constants. The force on the tips of the bow limbs for any point in the draw is given for each how by curves 2i and 28, respectively.

For purposes of direct comparison, the reflex of the limbs of the conventional bow in this case is made such that when the string is radial, the Y limbs are subjected to the same stress as the limbs of the new bow when the string is at right angles. The initial limb stress 01' this conventional bow is '55 pounds and increases to 83 pounds at the radial position but the initial limb stress of the corresponding new bow is only 12.5 pounds and increases during the draw to 83 pounds at the right angle position. The effective energy stored in the first bow is then proportional to the area under the curve 25 to the left of the line FG and the effective energy stored in the new bow is proportional to the area under curve 26 to the left of the line KM. From this it is obvious that for any given limb stress the new bow has a much greater casting power than the conventional reflexed bow and for the case shown the cast or the new bow is about two and one-half times the cast of a conventional reflexed bow of the same dimensions.

Fig. 6 shows how the shape. of the force-draw the bracing height. Curves-29. I0 and 3| are the tome-draw curves of the above conventional reflexed .bow for bracing heights of 3, 4 and 6.3 inches, respectively, and 32, 33 and 34 are the corresponding curves for the new bow with the same bracing heights. Curves 29, 30 and 3i show the forces on the tips of the limbs for the conventional bow corresponding to the force-draw curves 23,30 and 3| and curves 32', 33' and 34' show the forces on the tips of .the limbs of the new bow corresponding to the force-draw curves 32, 33 and 36. I

It will be observed that the bracing height has but little effect on the force at full draw for either bow' and that it has only a moderate effect on the curves for the conventional bow in the early part of the draw. In the case of the new bow, however, the lower bracing heights materially increase the amount of work done in the earlystages of the draw and hence the energy imparted to the arrow as the bow again approaches the braced position after the arrow is released. This characteristic of the bow makes it possible to adapt it to arrows of different weights to obtain more nearly constant acceleration than is possible with other bows. In general, when an arrow is released and the bow begins to'return to the braced position both the arrow and the bow limbs are accelerated by the potential energy stored in I the bow. The division of this energy between the limbs and the arrow at this time will, of course, depend upon their relative masses. As the bow approaches the braced position the kinetic energy of the bow limbs is transferred through the string to the'arrow. I

For very heavy arrows the kinetic energy of the limbs is relatively small as compared with the of arrow to be used so as to. keep the total force on the arrow nearer o the maximum permissible value over a large part of the travel of the string. For very heavy arrows, since the kinetic energy of the limbs is relatively small, the bow is preferably braced to the height required to give a forcedraw curve similar to the curve 33 of Fig. 6 which is relatively flat near the braced position. For very light arrows the bracing height is increased to produce a force-draw curve such as 34. In this case the kinetic energy of the limbs will tend to accelerate the arrow as the string approaches the braced position but at this time the force on the arrow due to the potential energy of the limbs is decreasing rapidly, as shown by the droop in curve 34, so that the total force on the arrow remains more nearly constant.

When the limbs of this bow are highly reflexed they must be laminated as in other highly.reflexed bows. It will be seen from Fig. 3 that during the draw the laminations will tend to pull "apart and hence, external wrappings-or their equivalent-may have to be used to'hold the back If two thin strips 35 and 36 of wood, for example, are clamped at one end as shown in the drawings and the free ends are deflected a distance No as shown in Fig. 8, the flber stresses in the two strips will be approximately equal. The deflection in either strip at any point P1 ontlie section A--A is proportional to the deflection No, and to the distance from the neutral plane" of the strip. We may therefore write where N1 is the deflection at P1, K1 is a. constant of proportionality, y is the distance of Pr mm the neutral plane of the strip 33 and t is the thickness of the strip. i If the strips 35 and 36 are glued or otherwise secured together while deflected as in Fig. 8 and the deflection No is decreased by an amount N, the deflection at P1 is then The force at P1 is proportional to the deflection or- The moment of this force about the neutral axis N-N of the composite strip is then The total moment of the forces for the right half section .of the strip 36 at P1 is then sm- 141v V (14) Similarly it may be shown that the total moment for the left half section including point P2 is Q 2 48 a 2N) Adding these moments we get a= 1+ z o1 N) The moments of force for the strip 35 along scctio-n'A-A is very approximately the same as for the strip 36 so that the total moment for the entire section is f will of course be such that the total moment is In order to straighten this strip it must be deflected in the opposite direction a distance of as shown in'Fig. 9. The neutral. plane will' then be along the line N-N2 and all the fiber elements to the left of N-N2 will be under substantially equal compression and all the fiber. elements to the right will be under substantially equal ten sion. Hence the stresses will be independent of the distance of the fibers from the neutral plane and will be equal in value to the maximum fiber stresses along the surfaces of the strips when they were deflected a distance No, namely i 3 The moment of force about the point 0 (Fig. 9) produced by the force at P2 is The total moment of force of all points in the plane A-A' (Fig. 9) is therefore "The increased moment obtained in this manner for a given fiber stress will be apparent by comparing this composite strip with a single piece at the same fiber stress.

If a single piece of wood having a thickness 2t is deflected a distance 2 N the maximum fiber stress will be the same as for the two unglued strips 35 and 36 when they were deflected a distance No. Assume such apiece formed by steaming or otherwise in a curved shape corresponding to a deflection i 2 When this piece is straightened the total moment at any given section by a calculation similar to that above is shown to be fiber stress so that it is capableof performing 2% times the work of the, single piece strip.

Such a composite trip is very useful as :a

bow limb since it makes possible bows of greatcasting power which are relatively light in drawing weight. The general principle described above is, of course, applicable to fiat spring members .of any material. They may be formed so as to be deflected from a curved to a straight position as already explained or they may be so formed that they are straight in. the equilibrium position and are deflected to a curved position. When such members are made of materials, such as wood, the stresses in the equilibrium position will, of course, eventually disappear causing a change of shape and a decrease in the work they are capable of performing with a given fiber stress. If strips of certain other materials; such as steel, are used there is no appreciable fatigue and the advantages of this construction are permanent,

For bows which are designed tobe' drawn until the limbs are straight the two lamination limb structure described above will ordinarily be used. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to use longer limbs and draw the bow only until the holding force has,reached the point 31 on the force-draw'curve 83 of Fig. 6. At this position the how has a comparatively high casting power with relatively lowholding force, as can be readily seen from the curve, and due to the longer limb length the angle which the string makes with a the arrow is larger so that the bow is well adapted to target shooting.

If the limbs of this bow were made of two 7 laminations by the above method they would not be at maximum stress at the full draw position no" (at point 31) By using three or more strips, however, it is possible to choose the strip thickness so that the limbs will be stressed to the maximum safe values when the bow is drawn only to the point 31. By calculations similar to those given it for the two strip limb, it may be shown that if three similar strips are deflected the maximum safe distance No and secured' together in this position, the composite structure, when released,

' will spring back a distance of When used as a bow limb it may be deflected from 25 this position a distance of 0 without exceeding the fiber stress present during 30 the original deflection.

Since the fiber, stress of. the center strip decreases as the bow is drawn and is in the reverse direction from the stresses in the outer strips,

the center strip adds nothing directly to the cast spring back only a distance which is less than in the case where the center strip is not preformed. 1 Hence, by preforming the center a strip it can be made to contribute to the cast of the bow. The method of making a limb of this type is illustrated in Figs. 15 to 17. Starting with j three similar laminations 50, 5| and 52, lamination 5| is steamed to'the shape shown in Fig. 16. Laminations 50 and 52 are then deflected to the curved shape of lamination 5| and secured to it to form the completed limb shown in Fig. 1'7.

A still further improvement may be obtained in the following manner: Two strips each of one-half the thickness of the outer strips are first bent and secured together on a form having one-half the radius of curvature of the form to be used in making the three strip structure. This composite center strip is then glued to the outer strips on the larger form. When released the limb will spring back a distance of andniay be deflected a distance of before the elastic limit is reached; If on the other hand,-the two strips used for the center of the limb are each equal in thickness to the outer strips and the procedure used is otherwise ance with the several methods described will the same, the limb will not spring back when released but will take a further deflection of v 32 This limb may be deflected a distance of should be substantially the reverse of that used by the Turks. It was common practice for Turkish bow makers to build up a laminated.

limb structure by applying thin layers of sinew and glue to a core of maple. They applied the first layer of sinew to an approximately straight core and progressively increased its deflection with each successive layer so that the completed bow was highly reflexed. It will be readily seen that when a bow having limbs made in this manner is drawn, the fibers of the external layers are subjected to muchhigher stresses than those of the layers near the core.

According to this invention the reverse of the procedure used by the Turks is followed. 'The first layer is applied with the core highlyreflexed to. a radius of curvature much smaller than that desired for the completed limb. The curvature of the member is then decreased somewhat before the next layer is applied and this process is repeated until the desired number of layers have been applied. This procedure is illustrated in Figs. 12, 13 and 14. Beginning with five similar laminations 40 to M the core lamination 42 is deflectedas shown in Fig. 12. In this position laminations 4i and 43 are secured to the 'core as shown in Fig. 13 and this composite memher: is then opened out to the position shown in Fig. 14 and the outer laminations fill and 44 are secured in place to form the complete limb.

When the two lamination core described above is used two thin laminations BI, 62 are bent to the form shown in Fig. 18 and secured together. This core is then partially straightened to the position shown in Fig. 19 and the laminations 60 and 63 are applied in this position to complete the limb. In each case the initial curvature of the core and the change in curvature between I the application of successive layers are made such that in the completed limb after being bent to the desired full draw position, the fiber stresses in all.

the layers are substantially equal, as in the limb formed from only two laminations, although the layers are at various distances from the center of the limb. r Y

Thus it willgbe seen that by proper choice of the number of strips to be used and the thickness of each strip the limb may be designed to produce the best result for the type of service for which a particular bow is designed.

When it is said of these laminated limb structures that the fiber stresses are equal throughout the limb section at full draw position it will be understood'that this condition can never be exactly obtained in practice. The variation in stress across a single lamination for a two lamination structure (or one with an infinite number of laminations) is, however, negligible as compared with the total stress but the approximation is not so close for structures with an odd .number oi laminations.

- structure.

often bean important factor in the choice of the construction to be used. By resorting to a slightly more expensive procedure, uniform fiber stress throughout a cross-section, of the limb for any deflection at full draw can always be. obtained according to the invention with the two strip For example, in the case discussed above where longer limbs are used to obtain the desired cast without pulling the limbs to the straight position, the two strips may be first steamed or otherwise formed to the shape desired at full draw. The strips are then further deflected the desired amount and glued in this position. A bow having limbs of this type may then be drawn until the limbs have the curvature of the original steamed strips and the stresses will then be uniform throughout the section.

It should also be noted that the general feature of the several limb constructions described,

namely a laminated structure built up in such a way as to have equal fiber stresses throughout its cross-section at full draw position, is not limited to the constructions described. For

straight limb hows the strips would first be formed to the radius of curvature which the limbs are to have at full draw. Before gluing they would be bent back beyond the straight position far enough so that the glued limb would assume the straight position when released from the form. It will also be understood that this principle is not limited to limbs which are to be set forward according to the preferred construction and that 'reflexed limbs for ordinary bows may be made in accordance with the principles of this invention.

It should be particularly noted that the invention is not limited to bows with demountable limbs. The term handle portion" as used above 'refers to a comparatively rigid section between the limbs but the limbs and handle may be made from a single continuous piece or a single unitary laminated structure formed to the desired shape and made rigid at the handle portion by the additherefore sometimes be difiicult to take full ad-' vantage of the novel methods of constructing laminated limbs described above. In such cases I the belly of the bow may be made of one of these irregular grain materials and the back of a plurality of layers of some other material which will more readily conform to the irregular contour of the belly material. For example, if horn is used for the belly and silk ribbon or fibers for the back, the belly material may first be deflected tothe maximum safe curvature, and a thin layer of the backing material secured to its concave side preferably under tension. The curvature of the member is then somewhat reduced and a second layer applied to the firstunder slightly less tension and this procedureis repeated until the desired thickness of backing has been obtained.

As in the case of the limb composed. entirely of many similar laminations, this limb may be built up so that all its fibers on the tension side will be equally stressed in the full draw position.

While the. invention has been illustrated by showing a bow in which the limbs are made up separately and subsequently fitted into a handle having forwardly inclined rigid extension pieces it is equally'applicable, as already stated, to bows in which the limbs are integral with the handle. In order to realize the advantages of the forward angle feature it is merely necessary that the portion of the reflexed limbs adjacent the handle be v set forward at an abrupt angle to the handle portion instead of being in line with the handle as in other bows. This can be done with a unitary structure. by steaming and bending the parts to their proper relative positions. Hence, while it may be more convenient to form the limbs separately the invention is not intended to be limited to a bow of this particular type and it will be understood that the several features described may be modifiedand combined in various ways within the scope of the following claims:

i What is claimed is:

1. A bow having a handle portion,. reflexed limbs forming an abrupt forward angle with the handle portion and a string connecting the tips of the limbs and resting on the belly of the active bending portions of the limbs.

2. A bow according to claim 1 in which the active bending portions of the limbs have grooves to keep the string in position.

3. The method of making a laminated 'structure which comprises deflecting one of the laminations, securing a lamination to each side of the lamination in the deflected position to form a composite member, reducing the deflection of the member and securing other laminations thereto in the position of reduced deflection.

4. The method of making a laminated struc ture which comprises preforming a lamination to a curved shape in which it is substantially unstressed, deflecting a straight lamination to the shape of the curved lamination on each side, thereof and securing said laminations together in the curved position. I

5. The method of making a laminated structure which comprises forming a core member by bending two strips to a small radius of, curvature. securing the strips together in the bentposition, partially straightening the core member and securing outer laminations thereto in the partially straightened position.

6. A bow comprising a handle and limbs, said limbs having active bending portions which are refiexed in the braced position and end portions adjacent the handle forming an abrupt forward angle with the handle. Y

'7. A bow according to claim-6 in which'the forward angle is at least 30 degrees.

8. A bow comprising a rigid handle having end portions disposed at a forward angle and refiexed limbs extending from the end portions of" the handle.

9. A now having a rigid handle and limbs secured to the handle at an abrupt forward angle,

said limbs being reflexed in the braced position of the bow and each comprising at least two laminations so stressed that the stresses in all the elements of a section of the limb become more nearly equal as the bow is drawn.

10'. The steps in the method of making a laminated limb for bows which comprises deflecting two laminations, to the position of substantially maximum permissible flber stress, in the direction opposite to that in which the limb is to be drawn and securing the laminations to.- gether in that position.

11. The step in the method of making a laminated limb for bows which comprises preforming each lamination separately in the same direction to the curvature it will have in the full draw position of the completed limb.

12. The steps in-the method of making a laminated limb for bows which comprises preforming two laminations in the same direction to the shape they will have in the full draw position of the completed limb, deflecting the preformed laminations in the opposite direction to the position of substantially maximum permissible fiber stress and securing the laminations together in the deflected position.

J CLARENCE N. HICKMAN. 

